Isaac Jenkins (1846 - 1911) was an American politician who served in the Florida House of Representatives in the 1880s. [1] [2]
Jenkins was born on August 10, 1846, in Leon County, Florida. [1] An African American born into slavery, Leon lived on the farm of his owner, General Robert Butler, until the American Civil War broke out in 1861. [1] He served as a cook in the Confederate Army until the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863. [1]
After being freed, he moved to Tallahassee. [1] He worked as a tinner for two years, then as a store clerk. [1] He married Mary Adkerson in 1860, and worked as a painter, clerk, and sexton of the city cemetery. [1]
Jenkins served as a Tallahassee councilman in 1876. [1] He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1880 and again in 1882, to serve in the 1881 and 1883 sessions representing Leon County. [1] Charles Rollins and Wallace S. Weeks were his fellow Representatives from Leon County. [3]
Jenkins was a Baptist. [1] He died on November 30, 1911, in Leon County, Florida. [1]